Playing-cards.



N0. 745,879. PATENTED I330. 1, 1903. G". G. MERIWETHER.

PLAYING CARDS.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 9, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

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UNITED STATES Patented December 1, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

PLAYING-CARDS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 745,879, dated December 1903- Application filed October 9, 1903. Serial No. 176,414. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CATHERINE O. .MERI- WETHER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Asheville, in the county of Buncombe and State of North Carolina, have invented certain new and usefullmprovements in Playing-Cards; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of theinvention,such aswillenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in playing-cards.

The object of my invention is to produce a new set of playing cards more especially adapted for exercising the mind of the player in connection with numbers.

In the accompanying drawing the figure represents a face view of five of my playingcards, which I term the zero playing-cards.

A pack of zero playing-cards consists of four suits of thirteen cards each, or fifty two cards in all. Each suit contains cards bearing the Roman numerals I, II, III, IV, V, X, XXV, L, n D, and M,respectively,andazerocard. Each card may also bear one or more representations of a zero, if desired.

The foursuits are distinguished from each other by differences in color, and, furthermore, the Roman numerals on said suits are made of different designs.

A game with these zero-cards may be played by following the general rules of whist. One of the players leads a card, the second plays a low card, the third a high card, and the fourth takes the trick, if possible. If either side plays a zero-card, this multiplies the score of his partners card by ten-that is to say, if the second hand plays low-X, for exampleand the fourth hand plays a zerocard, the score of that side is a hundred, and that side takes the trick unless the score of the other side exceeds a hundred. The score at the end of a hand may be reckoned by the number of tricks taken or it may be reckoned by the numerical value of the tricks taken or by the difference in the numerical value of a single trick between the two sides.

In case the zero-card is not played by either of the four players the trick is taken by that side whose card is the highest for that particular trick.

Different games may of course be played by these cardsfor instance, a game like ordinary casino may be played. In such a game the cards may be for double valuesfor instance, the first card may count one or ten, the second card two or twenty, and so on, while the zero-card, which corresponds to big casino, may have any value whatever set upon it.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A pack of playing-cards, comprising four suits of thirteen cards each, each suit being marked with Roman numerals varying from one to one thousand and each suit containing a card marked zero, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CATHERINE C. MERIWETI-IER.

Witnesses:

SYLVIA H. WATSON, S. M. R. CAMPBELL. 

